The #1 source for everything Nintendo Switch

Nintendo is pulling Wii U consoles off store shelves

A Canadian NeoGAF user claimedthat his local Best Buy didn’t have any Wii U systems on the shelves, and that an employee told him that “they’ve all been recalled, for some reason”.

On BestBuy.ca’s site, the console is listed as “sold out” online and in-store. Upon further investigation, other Canadian retailers seem to be in the same situation. The Source and EB Games are not selling the console online, even though it is available for in-store pick-up. It’s available on Amazon Canada from third-party sellers at huge markups, whereas official stock seems to have vanished. Wal-Mart Canada has gone one step further: the system doesn’t even show up in the search results for “Wii U” or “Wii U Console”. In fact, when searching for the former, the only item that is displayed is the NES Classic.

Other NeoGAF members chimed in and explained that the situation was similar in their regions. So far, it seems to be the case in Australia and in the USA as well. The Wii U is still available in the UK, at GAME, though.

Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the Wii U is dead yet. There could be many reasons for this.

Does Nintendo not want people buying the Wii U at a discount before the Switch is released?

Do they not want people buying Wii U systems at a discount before Zelda is released?

Do they simply need more shelf space for the NES Classic, 3DS and Amiibo, their products that actually sell?

Will they repackage these Wii U consoles into special bundles so that they can offload stock as quickly as possible before the Switch comes out?

Do they want to avoir consumer confusion once the Switch is released?

Will they bury all of the systems in a ditch, somewhere?

We’ll have to wait and see to know for sure, but so far, it seems as though the Wii U will die quietly, and without suffering.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitterto keep up with everything Nintendo Switch.